Methods and techniques for correcting pressure sensor data in the presence of abnormal pressure sensor readings

ABSTRACT

A determination is made as to whether touch pressure data acquired from each of a plurality of touch pressure sensors is indicative of abnormal operation. If abnormal operation is indicated, the touch pressure data from each of the plurality of touch pressure sensors, except those touch pressure sensors having touch pressure data indicative of abnormal operation, is summed. Then, the sum is multiplied by a correction factor to produce a touch pressure output indicative of physical force applied to the plurality of touch pressure sensors.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/220,500, filed Dec. 14, 2018, which itself claims the benefit andpriority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/612,790, filedJan. 2, 2018, the disclosures of both of which are incorporated byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure is related to the field of sensing the pressure oftouches to a touch sensitive display, and, more particularly, to ways ofobtaining usable touch pressure data even when one or more touchpressure sensors in the touch sensitive display are functioningabnormally.

BACKGROUND

Touch screen displays are widely employed for display of data andreceipt of user input in a variety of devices, such as smartphones,tablets, and smartwatches. Touch screen displays can determine the X andY coordinates of a touch thereto, which can be used as user input. Inaddition, touch screen displays can determine not only the location of atouch, but also the duration of a touch, permitting a tap to bedifferentiated from a long press, which can be used as another form ofuser input.

Still further, some touch screen displays can also determine thepressure or force applied during a touch, allowing for an even furthertype of user input. However, in some cases, touch pressure sensors usedto sense deformation of the touch screen display resulting from thepressure or force applied during a touch can become damaged or broken,and function abnormally.

In current devices, the presence of damaged or broken touch pressuresensors can render the determination of pressure or force applied duringa touch to be inaccurate. This could result in improper functionality ofan electronic device incorporating the touch screen display.

New developments in the area of pressure or force sensing are thereforeneeded.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that arefurther described below in the detailed description. This summary is notintended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subjectmatter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope ofthe claimed subject matter.

Disclosed herein is a method including acquiring touch pressure datafrom a plurality of touch pressure sensors, and for each of theplurality of touch pressure sensors, a determination is made as towhether the touch pressure data from that touch pressure sensor isindicative of abnormal operation of that touch pressure sensor. Where noabnormal operation is indicated, the touch pressure data from each ofthe plurality of touch pressure sensors is summed to produce a touchpressure output. Where abnormal operation is indicated, the touchpressure data from each of the plurality of touch pressure sensors issummed and multiplied the sum by a correction factor to produce thetouch pressure output.

Determining whether the touch pressure data from a given touch pressuresensor is indicative of abnormal operation may be performed bydetermining whether the touch pressure data from the given touchpressure sensor exceeds an upper limit or is below a lower limit.

In a calibration mode: a) for each of the plurality of touch pressuresensors, a same force may be applied to that touch pressure sensor whileacquiring touch pressure data from each of the plurality of touchpressure sensors, and the touch pressure data acquired from each of theplurality of touch pressure sensors may be summed to produce a referencetouch pressure output for that touch pressure sensor; and b) a given oneof the plurality of touch pressure sensors is designated as being anabnormally operating touch pressure sensor, and, for each of theplurality of touch pressure sensors except the designated given one ofthe plurality of touch pressure sensors, a same force is applied to thattouch pressure sensor while acquiring touch pressure data for each ofthe plurality of touch pressure sensors except the designated given oneto produce an abnormal reference touch pressure output for thedesignated given one of the plurality of touch pressure sensors.

In the calibration mode a variation may be determined between normal andabnormal operation for each of the plurality of touch pressure sensorsby determining a variation between each reference touch pressure outputand its corresponding abnormal touch pressure output, and the correctionfactor may be generated as a function of the variation between eachreference touch pressure output and its corresponding abnormal touchpressure output. In the calibration mode: c) iteratively repetitions ofb) may be performed for each of the plurality of touch pressure sensors,with a different given one of the plurality of touch pressure sensorsbeing the designated given one for each iteration, and d) for eachiteration of c) a variation may be determined between each referencetouch pressure output and its corresponding abnormal touch pressureoutput.

In the calibration mode, for each iteration of c), a correction factormay be generated for the given one of the plurality of touch pressuresensors being the designated given one, as a function of the variationbetween each reference touch pressure output and its correspondingabnormal touch pressure output.

Where abnormal operation is indicated, the multiplication of the sum bythe correction factor may include multiplication of the sum by thecorrection factor corresponding to which of the plurality of touchpressure sensors is operating normally.

In the calibration mode, for each iteration of (c), a plurality ofdifferent correction factors may be generated for the given one of theplurality of touch pressure sensors being the designated given one, as afunction of the variation between each reference touch pressure outputand its corresponding abnormal touch pressure output, with each of theplurality of different correction factors corresponding to a differenttouch zone.

Where abnormal operation is indicated, the summing of the touch pressuredata from each of the plurality of touch pressure sensors may beperformed by, for each of the different touch zones, summing the touchpressure data from each of the plurality of touch pressure sensorsassociated with that zone to produce a zone sum. The multiplication maybe performed by multiplying each zone sum by a corresponding correctionfactor for that zone, and the touch pressure output may be produced bysumming each zone sum after multiplication by its correspondingcorrection factor.

A device aspect is disclosed herein. The device includes a touch andpressure sensitive screen with a plurality of touch pressure sensors,and a touch and pressure sensitive screen controller. This controller isconfigured to acquire touch pressure data from the plurality of touchpressure sensors, and for each of the plurality of touch pressuresensors, determine whether the touch pressure data from that touchpressure sensor is indicative of abnormal operation of that touchpressure sensor. Where no abnormal operation is indicated, thecontroller sums the touch pressure data from each of the plurality oftouch pressure sensors to produce a touch pressure output. Whereabnormal operation is indicated, the controller sums the touch pressuredata from each of the plurality of touch pressure sensors and multipliesthe sum by a correction factor to produce the touch pressure output.

The touch and pressure sensitive screen controller may be configured to,in a calibration mode: a) for each of the plurality of touch pressuresensors, apply a same force to that touch pressure sensor whileacquiring touch pressure data from each of the plurality of touchpressure sensors, and sum the touch pressure data acquired from each ofthe plurality of touch pressure sensors to produce a reference touchpressure output for that touch pressure sensor; and b) designate a givenone of the plurality of touch pressure sensors as being an abnormallyoperating touch pressure sensor, and, for each of the plurality of touchpressure sensors except the designated given one of the plurality oftouch pressure sensors, apply a same force to that touch pressure sensorwhile acquiring touch pressure data for each of the plurality of touchpressure sensors except the designated given one to produce an abnormalreference touch pressure output for the designated given one of theplurality of touch pressure sensors.

The touch and pressure sensitive screen controller may also beconfigured to, in the calibration mode, determine a variation betweennormal and abnormal operation for each of the plurality of touchpressure sensors by determining a variation between each reference touchpressure output and its corresponding abnormal touch pressure output,and generate the correction factor as a function of the variationbetween each reference touch pressure output and its correspondingabnormal touch pressure output.

The touch and pressure sensitive screen controller may be configured to,in the calibration mode: iteratively repeat b) for each of the pluralityof touch pressure sensors, with a different given one of the pluralityof touch pressure sensors being the designated given one for eachiteration; and for each iteration of c) determine a variation betweeneach reference touch pressure output and its corresponding abnormaltouch pressure output.

The touch and pressure sensitive screen controller may also beconfigured to, in the calibration mode: for each iteration of c),generate a correction factor for the given one of the plurality of touchpressure sensors being the designated given one, as a function of thevariation between each reference touch pressure output and itscorresponding abnormal touch pressure output.

Where abnormal operation is indicated, the multiplication of the sum bythe correction factor may be performed by multiplying the sum by thecorrection factor corresponding to which of the plurality of touchpressure sensors is operating normally.

The touch and pressure sensitive screen controller may be configured to,in the calibration mode: for each iteration of (c), generate a pluralityof different correction factors for the given one of the plurality oftouch pressure sensors being the designated given one, as a function ofthe variation between each reference touch pressure output and itscorresponding abnormal touch pressure output, with each of the pluralityof different correction factors corresponding to a different touch zone.

Where abnormal operation is indicated, the summing of the touch pressuredata from each of the plurality of touch pressure sensors may beperformed by, for each of the different touch zones, summing the touchpressure data from each of the plurality of touch pressure sensorsassociated with that zone to produce a zone sum, and the multiplicationmay be performed by multiplying each zone sum by a correspondingcorrection factor for that zone. The touch pressure output may beproduced here by summing each zone sum after multiplication by itscorresponding correction factor.

Disclosed herein is a method including determining whether touchpressure data acquired from each of a plurality of touch pressuresensors is indicative of abnormal operation. If abnormal operation isindicated, the method includes summing the touch pressure data from eachof the plurality of touch pressure sensors except those touch pressuresensors having touch pressure data indicative of abnormal operation, andmultiplying the sum by a correction factor to produce a touch pressureoutput indicative of physical force applied to the plurality of touchpressure sensors.

The correction factor may not be dependent upon which touch pressuresensors have touch pressure data indicative of abnormal operation.

One of the plurality of touch pressure sensors may have touch pressuredata indicative of abnormal operation. The plurality of touch pressuresensors may be arranged into a plurality of different touch pressuresensing zones, with each touch pressure sensing zone containing at leasttwo of the plurality of touch pressure sensors. The correction factormay be dependent upon which touch pressure sensing zone contains thetouch pressure sensor having the touch pressure data indicative ofabnormal operation.

At least two of the plurality of touch pressure sensors may have touchpressure data indicative of abnormal operation. The plurality of touchpressure sensors may be arranged into a plurality of different touchpressure sensing zones, with each touch pressure sensing zone containingat least two of the plurality of touch pressure sensors. For each of theat least two of the plurality of touch pressure sensors having the touchpressure data indicative of abnormal operation, a correction factor forthe touch pressure sensing zone including that touch pressure sensor maybe determined, and a touch pressure sum for the touch pressure sensingzone including that touch pressure sensor may be calculated andmultiplied by the correction factor for that touch pressure sensing zoneto produce a corrected touch pressure sum for that touch pressuresensing zone, wherein the touch pressure data for that touch pressuresensor indicative of abnormal operation is not included in the touchpressure sum for the touch pressure sensing zone including that touchpressure sensor. A touch pressure sum for each touch pressure sensingzone not including touch pressure sensors having touch pressure dataindicative of abnormal operation may be calculated. The touch pressuresum for each touch pressure sensing zone not including at least onetouch pressure sensor having touch pressure data indicative of abnormaloperation may be summed with the corrected touch pressure sum for eachtouch pressure sensing zone including at least one touch pressure sensorhaving touch pressure indicative of abnormal operation.

Determining whether the touch pressure data from a given touch pressuresensor is indicative of abnormal operation may include comparing thetouch pressure data from the given touch pressure sensor to a limit, anddetermining that the touch pressure data from that touch pressure sensoris abnormal based upon the comparison.

The limit may be an upper limit and the touch pressure data for thattouch pressure sensor may be determined to be abnormal if the touchpressure data for that touch pressure sensor is greater than the upperlimit.

The limit may be a lower limit and the touch pressure data for thattouch pressure sensor may be determined to be abnormal if the touchpressure data for that touch pressure sensor is less than the lowerlimit.

In a calibration mode: a) for each of the plurality of touch pressuresensors, a reference touch pressure output for that touch pressuresensor may be produced; and b) a given one of the plurality of touchpressure sensors may be designated as being an abnormally operatingtouch pressure sensor, and, for each of the plurality of touch pressuresensors except the designated given one of the plurality of touchpressure sensors, a same force may be applied to that touch pressuresensor while acquiring touch pressure data for each of the plurality oftouch pressure sensors except the designated given one to produce anabnormal reference touch pressure output for the designated given one ofthe plurality of touch pressure sensors.

In the calibration mode, the correction factor may be generated basedupon a comparison between each reference touch pressure output and itscorresponding abnormal touch pressure output.

Also disclosed herein is a method including for each of a plurality oftouch pressure sensors, applying a same given force to that touchpressure sensor while acquiring touch pressure data from each of theplurality of touch pressure sensors to produce a reference sum for thattouch pressure sensor. The method also includes for each of theplurality of touch pressure sensors, determining an abnormal operationsum for that touch pressure sensor by applying the same given force tothat touch pressure sensor while acquiring touch pressure data from eachof the plurality of touch pressure sensors but discarding the acquiredtouch pressure data for that touch pressure sensor. The method furtherincludes calculating a variance for each touch pressure sensor basedupon the reference sum and the abnormal operation sum for that touchpressure sensor, and calculating a correction factor for each touchpressure sensor based on its variance.

The method may also include summing acquired touch pressure data fromeach of the plurality of touch pressure sensors except the acquiredtouch pressure data from a touch pressure sensor having touch pressuredata indicative of abnormal operation, and multiplying the sum by thecorrection factor for the touch pressure sensing having the touchpressure data indicative of abnormal operation to produce correctedtouch pressure data.

Also disclosed herein is an apparatus including a controller for a touchand pressure sensitive screen including a plurality of touch pressuresensors, wherein the plurality of touch pressure sensors are arrangedinto a plurality of different touch sensing zones. The controller isconfigured to acquire touch pressure data from the plurality of touchpressure sensors and generate a zone sum for each of the plurality ofdifferent touch sensing zones. The zone sum for each of the plurality ofdifferent touch sensing zones may be generated by summing the touchpressure data from each of the plurality of touch pressure sensorswithin that touch sensing zone, if that touch sensing zone does notcontain a touch pressure sensor having touch pressure data indicative ofabnormal operation, to produce at least one zone sum, and summing thetouch pressure data from each of the plurality of touch pressure sensorswithin that touch sensing zone except for the touch pressure data from atouch pressure sensor within that touch sensing zone indicative ofabnormal operation to produce a zone sum to be corrected, andmultiplying the zone sum to be corrected by a corresponding correctionfactor for that zone to produce at least one corrected zone sum. A touchpressure output may be produced by summing the at least one zone sum andthe at least one corrected zone sum.

A touch and pressure sensing display may include the plurality of touchpressure sensors, and may include a plurality of touch location sensorsseparate from the plurality of touch pressure sensors.

Each touch pressure sensor may have touch pressure data indicative ofabnormal operation is broken.

The plurality of touch pressure sensors are not touch location sensors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic device including a touch andpressure sensing display, in accordance with this disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a depiction of a finger applying force to a touch and pressuresensing display and the resulting deformation of the display.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a touch pressure sensing method capable ofreturning accurate results in the presence of one or more abnormallyoperating touch pressure sensors, in accordance with this disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a configuration method used to determine thecorrection factors of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a chart showing determined touch pressure readings during theconfiguration method of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure will be describedbelow. These described embodiments are only examples of the presentlydisclosed techniques. Additionally, in an effort to provide a concisedescription, all features of an actual implementation may not bedescribed in the specification.

When introducing elements of various embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to mean thatthere are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,”“including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean thatthere may be additional elements other than the listed elements.Additionally, it should be understood that references to “oneembodiment” or “an embodiment” of the present disclosure are notintended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additionalembodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Like referencenumbers in the drawing figures refer to like elements throughout.

With initial reference to FIG. 1, an electronic device 10 including atouch and pressure sensing display 12 is now described. The touch andpressure sensing display 12 includes touch pressure sensors PS1-PS15. Itwill be noted that the sensors PS1-PS15 may be separate from anyincluded touch location sensors. When sufficient force is applied by afinger to the touch and pressure sensing display 12, the display willdeform, as shown in FIG. 2. The touch pressure sensors PS1-PS15 serve totransform this deformation into an electrical signal that is read by acontroller 14 and used to determine the pressure applied by the fingerto the touch and pressure sensing display 12.

In some instances, one or more of the touch pressure sensors PS1-PS15may function abnormally, such as after becoming damaged. In theseinstances, the abnormally functioning touch pressure sensor or sensorsPS1-PS15 may return incorrect touch pressure data, which can lead thecontroller 14 to provide incorrect data to other parts of the electronicdevice 10.

As can be seen, the touch pressure sensor PS1-PS15 can be separated intodifferent pressure sensing zones 13 a, 13 b, 13 c. These zones 13 a, 13b, 13 c are determined as groups of touch pressure sensors capable ofinfluencing each other significantly if functioning abnormally. Forexample, for the arrangement of touch pressure sensors PS1-PS15 shown,pressure sensing zone 13 a includes touch pressure sensors PS5, PS10,and PS15.

When any sensor in a zone is broken, the force applied to any placewithin this zone will have its output reading altered significantlybecause its output reading is equal to the sum of data from all sensors.Locations outside the zone may not see a significant change in resultswhen a sensor within the zone is broken. Since any arrangement of touchpressure sensors may be used, it should be appreciated that the pressuresensing zones may be drawn in any suitable way, and that the techniquesshown herein are not limited to the setup shown in FIG. 1.

So as to permit touch and pressure sensing displays 12 with one or moreabnormally functioning touch pressure sensors PS1-PS15 to still performpressure sensing with satisfactory results, a touch pressure correctiontechnique may be performed.

Such a touch pressure correction technique is now described withadditional reference to flowchart 100 of FIG. 3. After the start (Block102), the controller 14 acquires touch pressure data from the touchpressure sensors PS1-PS15 (at Block 104). This touch pressure data isthen checked to see whether it is indicative of one or more abnormallyfunctioning touch pressure sensors PS1-PS15 (at Block 106) using thecontroller 14. This check is performed by determining whether the touchpressure data collected from any individual touch pressure sensorPS1-PS15 is either above an upper threshold value or below a lowerthreshold value. If the touch pressure data from any individual touchpressure sensor PS1-PS15 is above the upper threshold or below the lowerthreshold, then that touch pressure sensor is considered to befunctioning abnormally.

If the touch pressure data is not indicative of any abnormally operatingtouch pressure sensors PS1-PS15 at Block 106, then a sum of the touchpressure data from the touch pressure sensors PS1-PS15 is determined (atBlock 107) by the controller 14 for use by other components of theelectronic device 10, ending an iteration of the touch pressurecorrection technique (Block 116).

If the touch pressure data is indicative of an abnormally operatingtouch pressure sensor PS1-PS15, then one of two correction variants canbe applied by the controller 14. A simpler correction variant includesselecting a correction factor dependent on which touch sensor is foundto be operating abnormally (Block 109), summing the acquired touchpressure data while leaving out the item of data from the touch pressuresensor found to be operating abnormally (Block 111), and thenmultiplying the sum by the selected correction factor (Block 113). Thus,the corrected sum according to the simpler correction variant iscalculated as:

S=αΣsensor_(i),

where i includes all sensors except those found to be operatingabnormally, sensor_(i) is the pressure data, and α is the correctionfactor.

For more accurate results, the more involved correction variant can beperformed. Here, a different correction factor is selected for eachpressure sensing zone 13 a, 13 b, 13 c, dependent on which touchpressure sensor PS1-PS15 is operating abnormally (at Block 108). A touchpressure sum is then computed for each pressure sensing zone 13 a, 13 b,13 c (at Block 110), and each touch pressure sum is multiplied by thecorrection factor for that pressure sensing zone (at Block 112). Thus,the corrected sum according to the more involved correction variationvariant is calculated, and each corrected touch pressure sum is summed.This is calculated as:

S=XΣsensor_(i) +YΣsensor_(j) +ZΣsensor_(k)

where i includes the touch pressure sensors PS1, PS6, PS11 in zone 13 c,j includes the touch pressure sensors PS2-PS4, PS7-PS9, PS12-PS14 inzone 13 b, and k includes the touch pressure sensors PS5, P10, PS15 inzone 13 a, X is the correction factor for zone 13 c, Y is the correctionfactor for zone 13 b, Z is the correction factor for zone 13 a, andsensor is the pressure data. Note that data from touch pressure sensorsconsidered to be operating abnormally is not included in thiscalculation.

This ends an iteration of this touch pressure correction technique(Block 116).

Determination of the correction factors in a calibration operation isnow described with additional reference to the flowchart 200 of FIG. 4.After the start (Block 202), a reference sum of touch pressure readingsis determined for each touch pressure sensor PS1-PS15 while having asame force applied thereto (Block 204). In greater detail, a given forceis applied to touch pressure sensor PS1, and touch pressure data isacquired from each touch pressure sensor PS1-PS15 and summed. The resultis the reference sum for touch pressure sensor PS1. Next, the same givenforce is applied to touch pressure sensor PS2, and touch pressure datais acquired from each touch pressure sensor PS1-PS15 and summed. Theresult is the reference sum for touch pressure sensor S2. As stated,this is performed for each touch pressure sensor PS1-PS15.

Next, an abnormal operation sum is determined for each touch pressuresensor PS1-PS15 while having the same given force applied thereto, for agiven touch pressure sensor assumed to be operating abnormally (Block206). In greater detail, to determine the abnormal operation sum at thetouch pressure sensor PS1, assuming the touch pressure sensor PS1 isoperating abnormally, the same given force is applied to the touchpressure sensor PS1, and data is acquired from touch pressure sensorsPS2-PS15 (or acquired from touch pressure sensors PS1-PS15, and then thedata from touch pressure sensor PS1 is discarded). The touch pressuredata from touch pressure sensors PS2-PS15 is summed, and this sum is theabnormal operation sum for touch pressure sensor PS1, assuming thattouch pressure sensor PS1 is the touch pressure sensor operatingabnormally. To determine the abnormal operation sum at the touchpressure sensor PS2, assuming the touch pressure sensor PS2 is operatingabnormally, the same given force is applied to the touch pressure sensorPS2, and data is acquired from touch pressure sensors PS1-PS15 (oracquired from touch pressure sensors PS1-PS15, and then the data fromtouch pressure sensor PS2 is not used). The touch pressure data fromtouch pressure sensors PS1-PS15 is summed, excluding the data from touchpressure sensor PS2, and this sum is the abnormal operation sum fortouch pressure sensor PS2, assuming that touch pressure sensor PS1 isthe pressure sensor operating abnormally. This is performed for eachtouch pressure sensor PS1-PS15 to obtain the abnormal operation sum forthe given touch pressure sensor (PS1 in the example).

Then, a variance for each touch pressure sensor PS1-PS15 is determinedbased upon the reference sum and the abnormal operation sum, for thatgiven touch pressure sensor assumed to be operating abnormally (Block208). A chart showing sample reference sums, abnormal operation sums,and variances is shown in FIG. 5, for the example where PS8 is assumedto be not working.

This sequence is repeated for each touch pressure sensor PS1-PS15 havinga turn as the given touch pressure sensor assumed to be operatingabnormally (Block 210). For example, Block 206 and Block 208 areperformed for the touch pressure sensor PS1 being the given touchpressure sensor assumed to be operating abnormally, then Block 206 and208 are performed for the touch pressure sensor PS2 being the giventouch pressure sensor assumed to be operating abnormally, etc.

Next, if the simpler correction variant is to be used, then a differentcorrection factor is determined for each touch pressure sensor presumedto be operating abnormally (Block 213), based on the variances. Forexample, correction factor α may be determined for touch pressure sensorPS1 being the given touch pressure sensor assumed to be operatingabnormally, correction factor α may be determined for touch pressuresensor PS2 being the given touch pressure sensor assumed to be operatingabnormally, etc. This way, the controller 14 can apply the propercorrection factor based upon which touch pressure sensor PS1-PS15 isfound to be operating abnormally.

If the more involved correction variant is to be used, then a differentcorrection factor for each pressure sensing zone 13 a, 13 b, 13 c isdetermined based on the variances (Block 212), for each touch pressuresensor presumed to be operating abnormally. For example, correctionfactors X, Y, and Z may be determined for touch pressure sensor PS1being the given touch pressure sensor assumed to be operatingabnormally, correction factors X, Y, Z may be determined for touchpressure sensor PS2 being the given touch pressure sensor assumed to beoperating abnormally, etc. This way, the controller 14 can apply theproper correction factors to the pressure sensing zones 13 a, 13 b, and13 c based upon which touch pressure sensor PS1-PS15 is found to beoperating abnormally.

Block 214 signifies the completion of the process for determination ofthe correction factors.

It should be understood that while the above has been described withreference to correction for one touch pressure sensor PS1-PS15 operatingabnormally, it may be applied to correct for any number of abnormallyoperating touch pressure sensors PS1-PS15, by determining the correctionfactors the same way as described above but assuming two or more of thepressure sensors PS1-PS15 to be operating abnormally. In such a case,for example, with two sensors operating abnormally, the summation wouldnot include the pressure for these two sensors.

While the disclosure has been described with respect to a limited numberof embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of thisdisclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be envisionedthat do not depart from the scope of the disclosure as disclosed herein.Accordingly, the scope of the disclosure shall be limited only by theattached claims.

1. A method, comprising: determining whether touch pressure dataacquired from any touch pressure sensor of a plurality of touch pressuresensors is indicative of abnormal operation; and if abnormal operationis indicated, summing the touch pressure data from each of the pluralityof touch pressure sensors except those touch pressure sensors havingtouch pressure data indicative of abnormal operation, and multiplyingthe sum by a correction factor to produce a touch pressure outputindicative of physical force applied to the plurality of touch pressuresensors.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the correction factor is notdependent upon which touch pressure sensors have touch pressure dataindicative of abnormal operation.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein onetouch pressure sensor of the plurality of touch pressure sensors hastouch pressure data indicative of abnormal operation; wherein theplurality of touch pressure sensors are arranged into a plurality ofdifferent touch pressure sensing zones, with each touch pressure sensingzone containing at least two touch pressure sensors of the plurality oftouch pressure sensors; and wherein the correction factor is dependentupon which touch pressure sensing zone contains said one touch pressuresensor having the touch pressure data indicative of abnormal operation.4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least two touch pressure sensors ofthe plurality of touch pressure sensors have touch pressure dataindicative of abnormal operation; wherein the plurality of touchpressure sensors are arranged into a plurality of different touchpressure sensing zones, with each touch pressure sensing zone containingat least two touch pressure sensors of the plurality of touch pressuresensors; wherein, for each touch pressure sensor of said at least twotouch pressure sensors of the plurality of touch pressure sensors havingthe touch pressure data indicative of abnormal operation: determining acorrection factor for the touch pressure sensing zone including thattouch pressure sensor; calculating a touch pressure sum for the touchpressure sensing zone including that touch pressure sensor andmultiplying that touch pressure sum by the correction factor for thattouch pressure sensing zone to produce a corrected touch pressure sumfor that touch pressure sensing zone, wherein the touch pressure datafor that touch pressure sensor indicative of abnormal operation is notincluded in the touch pressure sum for the touch pressure sensing zoneincluding that touch pressure sensor; calculating a touch pressure sumfor each touch pressure sensing zone not including touch pressuresensors having touch pressure data indicative of abnormal operation; andsumming the touch pressure sum for each touch pressure sensing zone notincluding at least one touch pressure sensor having touch pressure dataindicative of abnormal operation with the corrected touch pressure sumfor each touch pressure sensing zone including at least one touchpressure sensor having touch pressure indicative of abnormal operation.5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the touch pressuredata from a given touch pressure sensor is indicative of abnormaloperation comprises comparing the touch pressure data from the giventouch pressure sensor to a limit, and determining that the touchpressure data from that touch pressure sensor is abnormal based upon thecomparison.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the limit is an upperlimit and the touch pressure data for that touch pressure sensor isdetermined to be abnormal if the touch pressure data for that touchpressure sensor is greater than the upper limit.
 7. The method of claim5, wherein the limit is a lower limit and the touch pressure data forthat touch pressure sensor is determined to be abnormal if the touchpressure data for that touch pressure sensor is less than the lowerlimit.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising, performing acalibration mode operation comprising: a) producing a reference touchpressure output for each touch pressure sensor of the plurality of touchpressure sensors; and b) designating a given one of the plurality oftouch pressure sensors as being an abnormally operating touch pressuresensor, and, for each of the plurality of touch pressure sensors exceptthe designated given one of the plurality of touch pressure sensors,applying a same force to that touch pressure sensor while acquiringtouch pressure data for each of the plurality of touch pressure sensorsexcept the designated given one to produce an abnormal reference touchpressure output for the designated given one of the plurality of touchpressure sensors.
 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising, in thecalibration mode: generating the correction factor based upon acomparison between each reference touch pressure output and itscorresponding abnormal touch pressure output.
 10. A method, comprising:for each touch pressure sensor of a plurality of touch pressure sensors,applying a same given force to that touch pressure sensor whileacquiring touch pressure data from each of the plurality of touchpressure sensors to produce a reference sum for that touch pressuresensor; for each touch pressure sensor of the plurality of touchpressure sensors, determining an abnormal operation sum for that touchpressure sensor by applying the same given force to that touch pressuresensor while acquiring touch pressure data from each of the plurality oftouch pressure sensors but discarding the acquired touch pressure datafor that touch pressure sensor; calculating a variance for each touchpressure sensor based upon the reference sum and the abnormal operationsum for that touch pressure sensor; and calculating a correction factorfor each touch pressure sensor based on the calculated variance.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising summing acquired touch pressuredata from each of the plurality of touch pressure sensors except theacquired touch pressure data from a touch pressure sensor having touchpressure data indicative of abnormal operation, and multiplying the sumby the correction factor for the touch pressure sensing having the touchpressure data indicative of abnormal operation to produce correctedtouch pressure data.
 12. An apparatus, comprising: a controller for atouch and pressure sensitive screen including a plurality of touchpressure sensors, wherein the plurality of touch pressure sensors arearranged into a plurality of different touch sensing zones; wherein thecontroller is configured to: acquire touch pressure data from theplurality of touch pressure sensors; generate a zone sum for each of theplurality of different touch sensing zones by: summing the touchpressure data from each of the plurality of touch pressure sensorswithin that touch sensing zone, if that touch sensing zone does notcontain a touch pressure sensor having touch pressure data indicative ofabnormal operation, to produce at least one zone sum; and summing thetouch pressure data from each of the plurality of touch pressure sensorswithin that touch sensing zone except for the touch pressure data from atouch pressure sensor within that touch sensing zone indicative ofabnormal operation to produce a zone sum to be corrected, andmultiplying the zone sum to be corrected by a corresponding correctionfactor for that zone to produce at least one corrected zone sum; andgenerate a touch pressure output by summing the at least one zone sumand the at least one corrected zone sum.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12,further comprising a touch and pressure sensing display including theplurality of touch pressure sensors, and including a plurality of touchlocation sensors separate from the plurality of touch pressure sensors.14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein each touch pressure sensor havingtouch pressure data indicative of abnormal operation is broken.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 12, wherein the plurality of touch pressure sensorsare not touch location sensors.